July
Bastille Day, France
Oooh La La
Bastille Day is the name given in English-speaking countries to the French National Day, which is celebrated on the 14th of July each year. In France, it is formally called La Fête Nationale (The National Celebration) and commonly Le quatorze juillet (the fourteenth of July). It commemorates the 1790 Fête de la Fédération, held on the first anniversary of the storming of the Bastille on 14 July 1789; the anniversary of the storming of the Bastille fortress-prison was seen as a symbol of the uprising of the modern nation, and of the reconciliation of all the French inside the constitutional monarchy which preceded the First Republic, during the French Revolution.
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Boryeong Mud Festival, South Korea
Get Down and Dirty in the Name of Beauty
Korea’s small beachside town of Boryeong wanted to let the world know about the therapeutic qualities of the mud on its shores. So it decided to invent this dirty festival that showcases this muddy town. It’s becoming popular in its 14th year with over 2.2 million visitors last year!
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Calgary Stampede, Canada
Cowboy Up
The city of Calgary in Alberta, Canada hosts the annual Calgary Stampede. This 10-day event features the world’s largest rodeo, concerts, and more.
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Camp Bisco, New York (USA)
The Disco Biscuits Present: Camp Bisco
Jam band The Disco Biscuits hosts the annual Camp Bisco festival in the small town of Mariaville, featuring a diverse musical lineup and an infamous party raging into the wee hours.
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Comic-Con (USA)
Where Superheros go to party
For 4 days in July, the San Diego Convention Center overflows with more than 100,000 comic and pop-culture enthusiasts for the largest comic book convention in North America: The San Diego Comic-Con.
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Electric Forest (USA)
Lightning in a Forest
The Electric Forest is held in an enchanted woodland near Rothbury, Michigan filled with lights, spirits and electric beats by some of the most talented electronic wizards of the wooden realm.
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Exit Festival, Serbia
Enter the Petrovaradin Fortress and Exit into a Dream
The Exit Festival of Novi Sad, Serbia has grown from tumultuous beginnings to being recognized as the “Best Festival in Europe” by the UK Festival Awards in 2007. It is one of the best 4-day parties you can find anywhere in the world.
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Festival of Near Death, Spain
Fiesta de Santa Marta de Ribarteme
This is another one of Spain’s strange festivals that celebrates the lucky few who have narrowly escaped death. Those who have had a near death experience in the past year climb in coffins and are carried to the church of Santa Marta de Ribarteme ►which honors Mary Magdalene’s sister who is the saint of resurrection.
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Fuji Rock, Japan
Rock Out Slopeside
The first festival was held on Mt. Fuji...during a typhoon! Many people under estimated the power of the storm and ended up with hypothermia. Miraculously, that didn’t stop the Red Hot Chili Peppers from performing through the peak of the storm.
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Gilroy Garlic Festival (USA)
Vampires you have been warned
The Gilroy Garlic Festival provides music, cooking demonstrations, arts and crafts, Miss Gilroy Garlic, and of course tons of garlic-infused foods at this three-day event. This July 29th-31st, 2011 over 100,000 attendees are expected to sample treats featuring the stinking rose at this Northern California food festival►.
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Gion Matsuri, Japan
Kyoto’s Biggest Party
For the entire month of July, Kyoto’s Gion district erupts in culture as the most lively festival of the year takes place. The Gion district is famously known as the most exclusive of the Geisha districts in Kyoto. The festival is locally known as Gion-san, is not to miss and perhaps your best shot of getting a pic of the elusive Geisha.
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Global Gatherings, UK
Dance Evolution
Enjoy world-class electronica, dubstep, and a variety of dance music at the Global Gathering in Long Marston Airfield in Stratford-upon-Avon, England.
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High Sierra Festival (USA)
4th of July Mountain Jam
Each year around the 4th of July, the small mountain town of Quincy, CA plays host to the High Sierra Music Festival for four days► in the picturesque foothills of the Sierra Nevada.
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High Voltage Festival, UK
High Voltage Rock n Beer
Where else can you find electrified rock, metal, beer gardens and a Evel Knievel museum in downtown London?
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Montreux Jazz Festival, Switzerland
Smooth Jazz Fest
The Montreux Jazz Festival was founded in 1967 by Claude Nobs, Géo Voumard and René Langel with considerable help from Ahmet Ertegün and Nesuhi Ertegün of Atlantic Records. The festival was first held at Montreux Casino. It lasted for three days and featured almost exclusively jazz artists. The highlights of this era were Keith Jarrett, Jack DeJohnette, Bill Evans, Soft Machine, Weather Report, The Fourth Way, Nina Simone, Jan Garbarek, and Ella Fitzgerald.
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Moscow High Heel Race
100 meters and dashing!
Russian women are famous for having tremendous skill negotiating winter weather, cobblestone streets and everything else with grace in high heels.►
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Naadam Festival, Mongolia
The Great Mongolian Games
Each July 11th-13th, Mongolia celebrates the national holiday of Naadam with a countrywide sports festival.
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Nowhere, Spain
Find Yourself in the Middle of Nowhere
Each summer since 2004, the small Nowhere Festival has brought the principles of Burning Man to Northeastern Spain. The location is kept a secret until just before the event, so keep checking the website www.goingnowhere.org to see where in the Spanish desert it will be this year.
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Open`er Festival, Poland
Opening it up!
The Heineken Open'er Festival is a music festival which takes place on the North coast of Poland, in Gdynia. The first edition of the festival was organized in Warsaw in 2002 as Open Air Festival. The main organizer of the festival is the concert agency Alter Art, but the performance took its name from its principal sponsor, Heineken International. 2011 edition of Open'er will be held from 30 June to 3 July. Open’er Festival was given the Best Major Festival prize on European Festival Awards awards ceremony in 2009 and 2010.
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Oxegen Festival, Ireland
An Emerald Green Festival
The Oxegen Festival boasts a lineup featuring the top names in rock, indie, and pop music at an incredible carbon-neutral festival held at Punchestown Racecourse in County Kildare, Ireland each July. The festival has enjoyed much success since being formed in 2004, attracting big names to the stage.
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Paleo Festival Nyon, Switzerland
Swiss Miss
Since 1976 – and the "First Folk Festival" that drew an audience of some 1,800 people in the town assembly rooms in Nyon –, Paléo Festival is today one of Europe’s most important musical events. Since its creation, the Festival has been growing in a regular and managed way, gaining steadily in professionalism during this period of development.
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Pitchfork Music Festival, (USA)
Hipsters Unite
Why are Hipsters like Farmers?
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Rainbow Gatherings, Worldwide
Hippies Worldwide Rejoice
This year “someplace in the state of Washington” a Rainbow Gathering will form a temporary open and free community built on consensus in the early part of July. Upwards of 30,000 “non-members” are expected to participate in this year’s gathering. Though no official rules, structure, or leaders exist, participants arrive as early as a month beforehand to set up “Seed Camp” and prepare for the Forest Service permitted gathering.
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Rainforest Music Festival
World Music and Culture Unite
This rainforest rock-out attracts over 30,000 attendees to the jungles of Sarawak, Borneo Malaysia. In addition to music there are daytime workshops on traditional crafts and culture.
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Reggae on the River, (USA)
Roots Rock Reggae
In it's 27th year Reggae on the River is back in it's great location in Northern California. It's always been set on the banks of the gorgeous Eel River in Garberville California. However there is a new location at the Benbow Lake Recreational Area which is beautiful too.
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Running of the Bulls, Spain
San Fermin, Run for your LIfe
Early in the morning every July 6th, crowds dressed in all white with red sashes and bandannas await the sound of rockets in the narrow streets of Pamplona, Spain. When the rockets fire, chaos ensues as one of the maddest foot races in the world begins.►
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Santa Fe Folk Market, (USA)
Support Local Craft and Worldwide Culture
Since 2004, Santa Fe, New Mexico annually hosts the largest multi-cultural artisan fair in the world. The festive market lasts 2 days, and features over 120 select artists from over 45 countries. Artists produce beautiful crafts from their native villages in Peru, India and Africa, and get to keep 90% of the profit.
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Secret Garden Party, UK
Find Some Magic in a Secret Garden Party
The Secret Garden Party outside of Huntingdon, England brings an intimate arts festival to life in the East Anglia countryside. The festival experience builds on a combination of themed camps promising you’ll be “edified, enlightened, and enthralled” by camps including Flirt Factory, Dance Off, and Kissing Den.
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Splendour in the Grass, Australia
Splendid Winter Festival
The Splendour in the Grass music festival takes place late July/ early August in Woodford, Australia in the state of Queensland. The event is championed as the best winter music festival in the country (yes, the seasons are backwards down there), and attracts talent from around the world.
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Tomorrowland, Belgium
Dance Party of Tomorrow
"Yesterday is History, Today is a Gift, Tomorrow is a Mystery"
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UFO Festival (USA)
An Out of this World Festival
The Roswell UFO Incident of 1947 remains a huge mystery for devotees of UFO lore. Allegedly a UFO crashed near the town, leading to an elaborate government cover-up. The town of Roswell is world-renowned for its otherworldly vibe and has a 3-day festival each summer to celebrate the anniversary of the crash.
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Wife-Carrying Championships
Carrying your Spouse's Weight
The ancient tradition of wife carrying has many different names and appears to have originated in Sonkajärvi, Finland.
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World Bodypainting Festival, Austria
Body of Art
Since 1998, the world’s most colourful event has taken place every year in Austria. The “World Bodypainting Festival” is the biggest art event in the bodypainting theme and tens of thousands of visitors admire the wonderful work of the participants.
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